


The Important Part

by mosylu



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bad Dreams, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 07:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19058140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mosylu/pseuds/mosylu
Summary: After tangling with a meta that uses fear toxin, Cisco is wracked with bad dreams. Caitlin stays up to help him through them.





	The Important Part

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hedgi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hedgi/gifts).



The cortex was 3 am quiet, the only sounds the clicking of her computer keys and the soft, deep breathing of the man in the bed. Caitlin had kicked off her shoes and pulled her hair into a loose braid to keep it out of her way as she worked, drinking lukewarm coffee to keep herself awake.

Not that what she was working on was so very important. Her priority, more than usual, was her patient.

The first sound of distress brought her up out of her chair and over to the bed. “Cisco,” she said. “Cisco, it’s okay. Can you hear me? Wake up. It’s okay. You’re dreaming.”

They’d spent the past week in cross-dimensional pursuit of a meta who used fear toxin on his victims. The Scarecrow was safely in Iron Heights now, but Cisco had gotten a faceful of the stuff. Even though they had an antidote on hand, Batwoman had said regretfully that the aftereffects would linger for about a day.

The aftereffects proved to be intense drowsiness, and when Cisco did fall asleep, awful nightmares.

He’d taken a swing at her earlier when she’d tried to shake him out of one, and been horrified when he’d come fully to consciousness and seen her holding her shoulder. She’d assured him she was fine, and a moment as Killer Frost after he went back to sleep had taken care of the bruise forming under her sleeve.

But now she relied on her voice to wake him. Depending on what he was dreaming, sometimes it worked better than other times.

“Cisco!” she called out again. “You’re dreaming.”

His hand flailed, and when it brushed against hers, he grabbed on hard enough to crunch bone. “Caitlin!”

“Shhhh, yes, it’s me.” She used her free hand to stroke his forehead, which always soothed him. “You’re okay.”

“You’re here.” His hand relaxed, and he opened his eyes. “You’re here.”

“I’m here,” she said. “It was a nightmare.”

He groaned and shut his eyes again. “I’ll say.”

She watched to see if he was going back to sleep, but his mouth stayed tense and his breathing quick and unsteady.

“How long was I out this time?” he asked after a moment.

She didn’t even have to look at the clock. “An hour and forty-three minutes.” It was a normal REM cycle, which was a relief. At least he was getting some actual sleep before the dreams started.

But still, waking up every ninety minutes or so could hardly be called restful.

He still held her hand in his. She gave it a little squeeze. “You haven’t had much good sleep tonight.”

He shook his head against the pillow.

“Are you sure you don’t want something for this? I can give you a sedative that shouldn’t interact with the antidote.”

“No,” he said. “I don’t need help falling asleep.”

“But you need help staying asleep. Just to stop you from dreaming - ”

“I tried sleeping pills when I was first getting vibe dreams all the time. It just makes them weirder, and I can’t wake myself up out of them.” He opened his eyes to look at her. “I’ll get through this. Sorry you have to hang out with me all night.”

“Don’t apologize,” she said sternly. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be right now.”

He smiled crookedly and worked his fingers through hers.

“Bad one?”

He nodded. His mouth was tight.

The toxin seemed to unearth every fear he’d ever had, ranging from the monsters under the bed that had terrified him as a child, to various villains they’d faced over the years, to a more existential fear of dying alone and forgotten. Sometimes he wanted to talk about his nightmares, and sometimes he wouldn’t tell her. “What was it this time?” she said gently.

He swallowed. “You.”

Her stomach twisted. “Me?” Possibilities raced through her mind, pursued by the haunting whisper that a viber's dream wasn't always just a dream. Killer Frost, turning evil again. Herself, dying at the hands of a meta or a supervillain or just by freak accident. “Wh-what happened to me?”

“You left,” he said. “I couldn’t find you. You were just gone. Forever.”

She caught her breath.

It had hurt him when she left, she knew. Both times, to Mercury Labs and then after Killer Frost. But they’d talked it over, a lot. It wasn’t the best coping mechanism, but it was the best one she’d had at the time.

He said, “Don’t make that face. You needed to go. I know. To get your head on straight, to get some breathing space away from this crazy life. I know all that. I just - ” His gaze drifted away. “At least I knew where you were. I knew you were okay and you didn’t need help.”

“And I came back,” she reminded him.

His lips curved a little. “And you came back.”

“That didn’t happen in the dream?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the p. He pulled his hand out of hers and tugged the blanket up higher over his chest. “Whatever. It’s okay. Just a dream. Just the Scarecrow’s heebie-jeebie juice screwing up my head.”

She reached for his hand again. “Cisco.”

“I’m okay.”

“Cisco, look at me. Please.”

It took a moment, but he did, turning his head on the pillow to stare into her face. His glasses were sitting on the table next to the bed, but she knew she was close enough for hm to see her reasonably clearly.

She said, “I can’t promise I’ll never leave again.”

His face went rueful. “Yeah, I know. We can’t make promises. Not with our life.”

“But if we’re ever apart, I can promise to make sure you’ll know where I am, and that I’m okay, without having to vibe it.”

“And you’ll come back,” he said. “Right?”

“To you?” she said. “Always.”

His eyelids drooped as the antidote’s drowsiness kicked in again. “Good,” he mumbled. “Good. That’s - ” He yawned, big enough that his jaw cracked. “That’s the important part.”

She rubbed her thumb over the inside of his wrist as his eyes closed and his breathing slowed. Yes, she thought. That was the important part.

FINIS


End file.
